THE CONCEPT OF CORPORATE COMMUNICATION

Corporate communication: corporate come from the  Latin word “corpus” which means “body” therefore corporate communication can be defined as the set of activities involved in managing and arranging all internal and external communication aiming at creating favourable starting point with the stake holders on which the company depends. Riel and fombum (2007)

The mission of the specialization in Corporate Communication is inspired by the belief that sustainable communication is essential for healthy organizations. This sustainability needs to be established within a context that is characterized by two fields of tension. Firstly, there is the tension between the organization and its environment example issues of positioning, reputation and strategy. Secondly, there is the tension of keeping things running smoothly within an organization where a broad range of interests are at stake example those of employees, different departments and locations.

Identity, trust, image and reputation; Concepts such as identity, trust, image and reputation play a central role in corporate communication. Organizations want to establish a positive image in the eyes of key stakeholders, and to be seen as a trusted and informed partner in public affairs. While measures such as public image campaigns, a clear and appropriate visual identity, and a code of conduct for personnel can help achieve this, these various aspects of image have to constantly be brought into line with an organization’s overall identity. Working on identity is therefore a complicated and energy-intensive process.

Within organizations, it is important to consider how employees work together, whether or not they exchange information, their perceptions and attitudes, their satisfaction with relationships in the organization and the meaning they attach to the work they do. This means considering aspects such as identification, compliance and well-being. In this light, internal communication is so much more than simply providing information. It also involves encouraging optimum cooperation and collectively creating settings in which employees can flourish.

Strategic communication in organizations; As a communication professional, you will not only be responsible for communication channels within organizations, but you will also be expected to address communication issues at a strategic level. Given the wide range of factors affecting organizations, this specialization includes theories from corporate and organizational communication, as well as management and organization science. It also explores a range of research traditions: from large-scale quantitative research to detailed qualitative studies.

The theories, tools and perspectives of corporate and organizational communication are all present in this specialization to facilitate your development as a communication professional with the practical insight to deal with complex communication issues in modern organizations.

 Marketing Communication; Marketing Communication is all about explaining, predicting and influencing consumer behaviour. Understanding the effects of advertising and marketing stimuli is central to this specialization.

A great deal of advertising and marketing communication aims to create positive ideas about a certain brand among consumers. Customers are more likely to buy a brand that makes a favourable impression on them. Marketing communication avails itself of a range of channels, such as printed advertising, television commercials, personal sales, shop design and ICT.

Marketing communication is all around us, a domain that we, as consumers, are part of. This represents the biggest challenge: understanding the often unconscious psychological processes that affect every consumer and play such an important role in marketing communication.

BY KYEJU DIANA

BAPRM 42589